Letters

Let Us Decide

Of all the character assassinations, invective, political swill, lies and bad faith routinely chronicled in the Letters to The Press, none is as outrageous as that from Dr. Georgette L. Grier-Key, executive director and curator of the Eastville Community Historical Society [“A Great Harm,” Letters, February 13].

Ms. Grier-Key, emboldened by her titles and position — accolades dear to the cramped academic mindset — dares to dictate who should control art, recovered history, historical interpretation, and what the public has a right to see and consider. A politically correct Philistine, she is guilty of co-opting a country’s and a people’s past to impose a world view, as did the slavery-defending Southern historians who came before her.

Sam Johnson, and his black dolls [“African-American Rag Dolls On Display At Rogers Memorial Library In Southampton For Black History Month,” 27east.com, February 4], are the target of her “professional” ire. She ignores the many possible interpretations they evoke, and the insights into another era that might bring to bear on them, in favor of a single interpretation.

She should consider the never-to-be-forgotten Percola Breedlove, who burst out of the pages of Toni Morrison’s first novel, “The Bluest Eye.” Praying always for physical beauty that might include her, but seeing only the porcelain blonde dolls of the rich white children, what might she have made if given one of the black dolls handed down to us by Mr. Johnson’s preservation?

The inner life and the sufferings imposed on this child born in a novel informed a generation’s sensibilities. That was 1970. In 2013, “The Bluest Eye” was the “most banned book” because of its sexually explicit, graphically described content and disturbing language. While well within imagining, or even reporting, that a child would suffer what was described, it is now considered best suppressed. Or left to professionals to interpret?

Dr. Grier-Key would banish Mr. Johnson’s collection to “his own home” and says the public deserves “more.” More than her privileged censure, for sure. She refuses to allow that craft can become art, and that symbols and artifacts, mercurial to meaning, transition over time to inspire thought, study, insight and conscience — “more” than is envisioned in her curatorial policing and demands for a “tightly controlled environment.”

The Press is misguided in characterizing a “misstep” [“A Teachable Moment,” Editorial, February 13], and the library as well for justifying the exhibit as a “teachable moment.” The public doesn’t need to be controlled, or “taught,” but to look with fresh eyes unencumbered by dogma. We are capable of feeling without being told, and moved by Mr. Johnson’s love and connection to his own past and future while not denying its pain.

Pulling down statues, destroying what survives of the past and dictating history is not the way to redress. Preservation, experience and insight is. We, the public, are then free to make up our own minds!

Frances Genovese

Southampton

More Letters

Makes The Grade

When choosing a school board candidate, voters should measure that candidate against the key criteria needed to be an effective board member. They should ask if the candidate will: 1. Focus on student achievement. 2. Use data to make informed...

This America

First, I want to send my sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones during this time. Losing a loved one during this time is difficult enough, but not to have the ability to be by their...

Lucky To Have Him

These are trying times in so many ways for so many people; COVID-19 has changed the world and the lives of every single person on it. My husband, many of our friends and I are self-employed and are struggling to...

Touching Tribute

On behalf of the Mathys family, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the fire departments of Quogue, East Quogue, Westhampton Beach, Hampton Bays and Flanders for their humbling presence at the funeral procession in honor of my...

A Classy Lady

Kudos to Steve Kotz for his excellent summation and description of Elise “Weezie” Quimby’s life. His writing is most certainly worthy of the classy lady we all knew and loved [“Elise Quimby, A Fixture In Bridgehampton, Dies At 85,” 27east.com,...

The High Horse

In a recent letter, reader Ed Surgan, without offering any details, complained about Democrats having a sense of superiority over average Americans [“Justice Served,” Letters, May 21]. This complaint is heard whenever right-wing politicians fear that working class Americans, whom...

Just A Showman

During the Great Depression, FDR’s Fireside Chats brought comfort to our nation. Unfortunately, listening to our supervisor is not so reassuring. The time has come for our supervisor to take a road trip starting in Eastport and viewing our entire...

Kudos And Thanks

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring stress and confusion to our community, real heroes are emerging every day. We are thankful for our health care workers, first responders, police officers, firefighters and retail workers who have made essential adjustments...

Experience Counts

Experience is what counts. Everything else is just talk. In the 1st District congressional election this November, incumbent Lee Zeldin will be a tough opponent, and beyond that, Congress is a tough neighborhood. This is no place for amateurs. There...

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and help us improve our websites. We and carefully selected third parties use cookies to show you more relevant ads online. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our use of such cookies.